EuroHawk UAV Finally Goes Global

Can a single unmanned aerial vehicle save the NATO alliance? Last week, German military brass and Northrop Grumman officials unveiled the EuroHawk, a UAV that performs long-endurance signal intelligence missions at more than 50,000 feet. (EuroHawk is an adapted Global Hawk, which the U.S. Air Force flies and plans to use to replace the U2 manned spy plane.) There were 300 guests and a lot of fanfare at Edwards Air Force Base during the eventÂ—especially considering the sale was for a single aircraft. If all goes well, Germany might buy four more EuroHawks in 2011. Why are hopes so high for the limited purchase of this aircraft? The reasons strike at the heart of some pressing defense issues facing Europe, NATO and the United States.

EuroHawk is a symbol that Europe is finally equipping its military with modern equipment, which might help bridge a chasm within NATO. European countries watched as the United States poured money into a host of new systems for use in Afghanistan and Iraq. These included new sensors, intelligence-gathering equipment and devices used by ground troops and commanders that could get real-time video imagery on demand. UAVs were, and remain, at the heart of the effort. At the same time, European defense spending languished, and the subsequent technology gulf between NATO allies is making it difficult for them to work together--especially during a challenging fight such as NATO faces in Afghanistan, where information is more critical than bullets. "The lack of a European platform means NATO relies on the United States for its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance," says Guy Ben-Ari, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "This is a crucial capability for battle-space management."

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For a sense of how far behind the Germans are lagging, take a look at what the EuroHawk is replacing: the Breguet Atlantic, a 12-person airplane that was built in 1972. Only two Breguet Atlantics still serve in the German military, both of them wired for signals intelligence missions. (Known as "SIGINT," meaning snooping on communications and other electromagnetic emissions.) Since EuroHawk can stay overhead for long periods of time--more than 30 hours at a stretch--it can conduct more intelligence missions than any manned platform. That's good news for Germany and the rest of NATO. The treaty requires that Germany pony up a SIGINT platform, and EuroHawk will fill that membership requirement after the aged Breguets retire.

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But NATO has higher hopes than just having its members pay their dues. The EuroHawk is considered a trailblazer for a languishing NATO flying-radar program--the alliance's first big joint procurement in more than 30 years.

Since 1992, NATO has been seeking a new aircraft that took advantage of improving technology to get a clearer picture of the situations on the ground. By 2002 they finally formed a joint venture, the Alliance Ground Surveillance program. Political considerations almost immediately beset the program. The initial idea was to mount the radar on manned airplanes but after lengthy debate in 2007, NATO decided to buy unmanned aircraft only for AGS. The debate and political dithering also took a toll. "It's been an exercise in frustration," Ben-Ari says. National pride, budgets, lobbying for roles for each nation's industrial base and the overall need for total consensus between the 15 nations involved in the program continue to hamper AGS's development, he says. The hardware was supposed to be flying by 2010; last week NATO released a statement optimistically projecting that AGS could be available by 2012.

EuroHawk is a sign of progress amid this foot-dragging, according to Ed Walby, Grumman's business development director for high-altitude systems. "EuroHawk is a pathfinder for Europe," Walby says. EuroHawk's adoption will force Germany to create standards and ways to operate unmanned aircraft in Europe and beyond. This includes plans for hiring personnel for new positions, integrating the system into mission planning, training staff and settling airspace issues. (European airspace is more crowded than U.S. airspace, so they are eager to figure out how to employ the automatic takeoff and landing abilities that are instilled in the EuroHawk.) Since European Union nations share these standards, EuroHawk--which is scheduled to be operational in 2011, a full year before AGS's most recent estimate--will pave the way for the unmanned AGS aircraft.

Grumman has an added stake in EuroHawk's success: NATO's 2007 UAV-only solution specified that the AGS would be based on an upgraded GlobalHawk Block 40. Grumman has been waiting to make an actual sale from all these international machinations. No wonder they felt like celebrating the purchase of a single UAV by Germany.